Jellal Appreciation Day x780
by bellagill92
Summary: Most people yearned to be appreciated. Jellal, however, really just wanted to wake up from the waking nightmare that being over-appreciated turned out to be. AU where the child-slaves successfully escaped the Tower of Heaven during the rebellion.


**A/N: Happy ****Jellal Appreciation Day everyone! Here is my contribution to this glorious date, yet another volume of my Good Deeds AU. **

**I would advise reading the previous parts "Good Deeds", "Christmas Snow" and "Heavenly Body Magic" but that is not strictly necessary. All you need to know is Ultear returned to Ur and that, without her to mess up Jellal's mind, the Tower of Heaven kids all escaped during Erza's rebellion. The kids joined Fairy Tail, leading to some Butterfly-Effect-like changes.**

**Ages: Jellal is 16, Erza is 15 (almost 16), Kagura and Millianna are 12, Simon is 16, Ultear is 19.**

**I hope you all like it! Enjoy!**

**Jellal Appreciation Day X780**

On the fine late-December morning in which Erza Scarlet stepped out of Fairy Hills with two pre-pubescent girls clutching onto each of her arms, she really had no clue how odd that day was very soon going to turn out to be.

"Please_,_ Er-chan," Millianna begged, all but pulling her surrogate older sister's arm out of its socket.

"Millianna…" Erza started.

"_Please_, big sister," Kagura echoed, doing the same to the other arm. "We're strong enough! Take us on an S-Class job!"

Erza sighed, not completely sure she would be able to reach her destination, the guild, without at least one dislocated shoulder. She had been an S-Class member of the guild for a total of two days and from the moment she had returned from the trials, those two had latched onto her and vowed not to let go until their mission was complete. "You're both twelve!" Erza protested.

"Age is just a number!" Kagura argued, finally letting go of her arm, much for her relief.

"Kagura-chan is _really_ strong," Millianna added, unfortunately still firmly attached to her.

It was true. Kagura was a bit of a prodigy – during the time she had spent on her own after her brother's abduction and subsequent search for him, she had grown strong beyond her years. Her gravity magic had manifested almost immediately after the destruction of Rosemary Village and she had fully gained control of it in the years that had passed. That, along with her ongoing sword-wielding training was going to make her a powerhouse one day. But one day was _one day._ "Yes, Kagura is very strong," Erza admitted, making the younger girl's eyes twinkle with pride at being praised by her beloved sister and idol. "But she still has much to learn before she reaches S-Class level."

… and the twinkle was gone. "That's not fair!" Kagura protested. "Jellal is not S-Class either but you're going on an S-Class job together after Christmas!"

"I said S-Class _level_, Kagura. Not fully S-Class…"

She narrowed her eyes. "If he's S-Class level, then why didn't Master select him for the trials?" she questioned.

Erza narrowed her eyes. That was a whole other matter. She did have her theories about the reason for Master's decision. There was no obvious reason for Jellal _not_ to have been selected: he was strong, reliable, intelligent, above the age threshold of fifteen, there were not enough contenders for him to have been sacrificed for the sake of numbers (hell, Master had even thrown in Macao just to fill in a spot, even though the older man himself had long stated that he had no hopes of ever making S-Class)… In all, Jellal Fernandes was the very model of what an S-Class mage should be. So what reason could there be for the Master not selecting him? The answer was simple: because Jellal had asked him _not _to. Why? To be _her_ partner at the trials.

She hadn't reached that conclusion until about a day after the contenders had been announced. By then, it was too late to do anything about it as Master's word was law and Jellal had already signed up as her partner. She had spent about half a day giving him the evil eye before finally gathering the courage to ask him outright about the matter. His answer had been… well…

"_Why would Master ever agree with a request like that?"_ he had questioned her back with a perfectly straight face.

It had seemed like a reasonable question at first… that was until she had found him filling up the Master's paperwork in his spare time while the old man took a 'relaxation break' at the local cabaret. It should be noted that while, once upon a time, Jellal had been hopeless at all types of deception, these days he was… well, still a bad liar but much more skilled at… skirting on the edge of the truth. As such, it became quite obvious that Jellal had bribed the master with clerk work so the old man would let him sit his own exam out for the sake of partnering up with Erza. That had warranted him another week of silent treatment… that was, until it had finally sunk into Erza's mind that, deep down, she selfishly preferred having him as a partner rather than an opponent, so she might as well get on with it and focus on their performance in the exam.

"That's a complicated matter," she finally informed Kagura, who just pouted. "I assure you that he is no weaker than I am."

"Er-chan has a point, Kagura-chan," Millianna had to admit. "Big brother Jellal is _really_ strong."

Kagura's pout only worsened.

"Why would you want to take part in an S-Class job this early on, Kagura?" Erza had to ask. "I have been to S-Class jobs as backup before and I assure they are not that interesting. Just incredibly hard."

The dark-haired girl looked down. "Maybe. But I want Simon to see that I'm strong enough to be his partner at the trials next year," she mumbled. "And if I made it through an S-Class job, he'd have to _see _it!"

"But Simon _knows_ you're strong, Kagura-chan!" Millianna pointed out. "Everyone can see it!"

"It doesn't look like it! I can't even get a paper-cut during a job without him being all over me!" she informed her. "I love Simon. He's my big brother… but this is just too much."

"You have to understand, Kagura, that he was away from you for a long time," Erza told her. "It makes sense that he would be protective now."

"But while he was away from me, I was _on my own_! And I didn't get hurt! It wasn't easy but I made it! So, why can't he see that don't need him to treat me like a little girl?"

Problem was, she _was_ a little girl, Erza thought. Even more so in Simon's eyes. "Then maybe you should sit Simon down and explain to him just that," she said softly. "It might take a while for him to get it, though… are you really that set on partnering up with him on next year's S-Class exam?" Simon had participated that year as well with Wally as his partner… they had gotten eliminated on the first round, having had the bad luck of finding Ultear as their S-Class examiner. The time-mage was still not quite acquainted with the notion of holding back for pedagogical reasons, Erza noted with a frown.

Kagura nodded, determined. "I can make Brother win," she stated. She was especially eager to make sure that would happen because she had no doubt that Jellal would take part on the trials the following year… and if there was one thing she was eager to do, that would be squashing Jellal like a bug.

It wasn't that her brother's best friend had offended her personally or anything. It just so happened that, by monopolizing Erza's attentions as much as he did, Jellal had completely ruined her brother's chances with the redhead. And Kagura would have _really_ liked it if Erza were to become her sister in a more official capacity. But fate hadn't wanted it that way and, same as Simon, Kagura was capable of accepting that Erza deserved to be happy and that if her feelings for Jellal (who, she couldn't deny, was nowhere as rotten as she would have liked him to be) fueled that happiness, then they should be together. Still, even though she wasn't about to start scheming to make Erza forget the blue-haired teenager, that didn't mean that she had to _like him_.

"Well, then I'm sure you'll be able to use that determination to convince him," Erza reassured her with a smile. Then, she turned to Millianna, who still held onto her like an extension of her upper limb. "What about you? Are you aiming to be Jellal's partner at the trials too?"

She pouted. "I can't. Shô called dibs before I did. And Wally and Richard too… and even Natsu," she mumbled. "It's not fair! I didn't know people were calling dibs already!"

"I already told you that you can be my partner if Big Brother is S-Class by the time I'm selected," Kagura reminded.

"Yeah… thanks Kagura-chan," Milliana said. "But no, I didn't want to go on a job because of that. There's just this really cute kitty-poster I saw on sale and I really, really wanted it!"

Erza frowned. "You don't need an S-Class-level reward to buy one poster," she stated.

"No, but if I had that much money, I could also buy this bed I saw in a catalogue that looks just like a cat-palace! It's _really_ expensive! But it has a scratch post and everything!"

The redhead huffed. By then, they were only a few blocks away from the guild. "Don't you have enough cat-themed things already?"

"Of course not, Er-chan!"

Unsurprised, Erza just shook her head. "If you want, I can take you on a regular j…" she ceased talking, however, as, upon making a corner, she found herself looking at a crowd, apparently blocking the guild's doors. "What is going on?" she mumbled to herself as she stopped walking.

"Oh no! Did something happen?" Millianna asked in alarm, holding onto Erza's arm a little harder than before.

Kagura got closer as well, slightly alarmed.

"Let's just… get closer and see," Erza suggested, resuming her pace.

As they approached the crowd, the got a better view of it, only to realize that it was mostly… teenage girls? They seemed to be hysterical, shouting something at the doors, which remained firmly shut. Erza wondered how they were supposed to get in with them blocking the way… they didn't seem like they would be willing to make way for them, all elbowing each other in an attempt to reach the front.

Maybe they could take the back door, she considered… only to change her mind when she found the entrance of the alleyway it led to completely blocked by a thick wall of ice, likely either Ur or Ultear's doing to keep the crowd away. That was… a problem.

With no other choice, Erza moved closer to the crowd in an attempt to devise a strategy to break through it and get into the guild… but she never had a chance to even think it over. The moment she got about ten feet away, she finally managed to clearly hear what they were shouting and became… alarmed, to say the least.

"_Jellal!"_

"_Come out here! We want to see you!"_

"_We love you!"_

"_Let me be your girlfriend, Jellal!"_

"_I want to kiss your tattoo!"_

Erza felt herself growing faint. Jellal. They were shouting for Jellal. _Her _Jellal (not they were dating or anything)! How… how _dare they!_

"Ha! I _knew _there was something wrong with him!" Kagura said victoriously. "Look! He probably seduced all these girls and left them in the wind. He doesn't deserve your love!"

"W… what?" Erza asked in horror, not only at having her feelings shouted so openly but also at Kagura's theory.

"Don't say that, Kagura-chan! Big brother wouldn't so such a horrible thing!" Millianna quickly came to Jellal's defense. "He loves Er-chan!"

It was too much. Almost too much to take.

"I'm going to get in there and teach him a lesson on playing with my big sister's heart!" Kagura declared, looking at the crowd with determination before she started speeding towards it.

"Kagura, no!" Erza shouted.

But, it was too late. The moment she reached the outer layer of girls, she was simultaneously pushed and kicked back and, as if on a rebound, went stumbling back until finally starting to fall.

Before she hit the floor, however, the impossible happened. Or rather, the impossible for non-magical folk – Simon, with his well-calibrated brotherly instinct, appeared out of nowhere and caught his little sister mid-fall before turning to Erza and Millianna with an intense look on his face.

"Grab on!" he shouted at them, dramatically stretching his arm in their direction.

And so, reacting quickly, the two other girls ran towards him and did as he said, holding onto his arm. Before they knew it, the crowd nearby seemed to have gotten wind of what was going on and turned they attention to them, rushing in their direction. But they never had a chance as, by the time they reached the spot where they'd been, Simon had teleported them into the guild's kitchen.

"Phew," he said, still holding Kagura close. "That was close."

"What on Earthland is going on, Simon?! " Erza demanded, splattered on the floor, having fallen due to the suddenness of the teleportation. "What is that crowd doing out there? Why are they calling for Jellal?!"

"He did something to them, didn't he, Big Brother? Some illegal charm magic! Yes, that must be it!" Kagura determined.

Her brother gave her a clear stop-it-right-there sort of look that did wonders at quieting her down. "He didn't do anything. It's what was done to him that's the problem."

Erza's eyes widened in alarm. "What do you mean _done to him_?"

"Is Brother Jellal hurt?!" Milliana questioned.

"He fine, physically. It's… it's hard to explain," Simon stated. "You know that weird teen mage magazine? _Magic Glitter_?"

"The one that came to make a profile on Ultear a couple of months ago?" Erza asked.

Simon nodded. "They publish this article every year. The most eligible teen mage of the year. And guess who made it to number one."

She thought for a moment. And then… "Oh, _no,_" she mumbled. Jellal? _Her_ Jellal was number one?

"Apparently, magazine subscribers get it a day earlier than everyone else, so we had no idea that hunting season on Jellal had already opened when they crowded us this morning," Simon explained. "I had to teleport him out of there too. He was so freaked out that he spent half an hour breathing into a bag. I think he's still traumatized."

"Where is he?" Erza demanded.

Simon pointed at the door leading to the main hall. "Out there."

She got to her feet and brushed non-existent dirt off the front of her dress. "I'll go and check on him now," she requested before heading to the door and stepping into the main room of the guild.

She was a little surprised to find that things were actually going pretty close to normal within the guild, as if it was perfectly acceptable for one of them to have a mob of screaming fans outside (in the guild's defense, it wasn't the first time that happened). Aside from the firmly closed door, everyone just seemed to be doing what they usually did: the Master sat on the bar counter with his usual tankard and talking quietly with Laxus, who sat to his right; Gildarts, having returned from a solo job the day before, was gushing over Cana who, in her teenage years, seemed a little embarrassed by her father's behavior (even if she liked it deep down); Natsu and Gray were having their fight broken up by Ur, who wacked them both across the head and put them on a time out facing opposite corners of the guild; Shô was being forced to do homework by Wally and Richard; Macao and Wakaba were drinking together as Macao's three-year-old son, Romeo, played with the takeover siblings… and then, there was Jellal, sitting miserably on a table near the bar, his face flat on the surface as he covered his head with his arms defensively while Ultear, looking up to no good, as always, sat cross-legged atop the table by his side reading out loud from a magazine. Little Meredy, Ultear's constant shadow, was perched on the table behind her, sneaking a peak from said magazine over her shoulder.

"… '_dreamy', 'smart', 'polite', 'charming', 'adorable', 'powerful'," _Ultear was reciting from the magazine as Erza approached.

"_Stop!"_ Jellal's muffled voice was heard.

Unsurprisingly, Ultear ignored him. "… '_has an amazing smile', 'top quality physical fitness', 'husband material'_ and, of course, my personal favorite: '_a mother-in-law's wet dream_'," the older girl finished. "Doesn't that sound just a tad dirty? No wonder girls are flocking to get a piece of you."

"Can't you just leave me be?" Jellal mumbled, lifting up his head for a moment. "Only someone utterly _evil_ would beat a dead horse like this." He turned to the little girl peaking over Ultear's shoulder. "You should get away while you can, Meredy-chan. She's a bad influence on you."

The pink-haired girl just shook her head and wrapper her arms around Ultear's neck from behind in a rather awkward hug. "My Ultear is the best."

"That's right, sweetie. I _am_ the best," she declared, turning to press a kiss to the cheek of the little girl she saw as a little sister (finally a little sister to balance out the idiot boys she had for brothers!). "And I am going to teach you to be _just as good_."

Meredy looked nothing short of delighted, leading Jellal to believe that it was too late to save her her and she was another Ultear in the making. As if it wasn't bad enough the time-mage had quickly swooped Mirajane under her wing after she had joined the guild and enlisted her into her 'let's-meddle-into-Erza-and-Jellal's-relationship-or-lack-of-thereof' mission. At that rate, they would be outnumbered very soon!

"Jellal," Erza said, finally announcing her presence.

The blue-haired boy straightened his back suddenly and shot her a look of alarm. "I didn't do anything!" he quickly shouted with no need for prompting. "I didn't give interviews or pose for any pictures. They… they just put me in their front page without asking! Is that even legal? It doesn't _sound_ legal!"

"Oh, you will come to find out in time that the law has much less common sense than most people," Ultear pointed out. "One still has got to wonder how they put the bull's eye on you. It's not like you go out of your way to get recognition or to publicize your genius for everyone to hear or anything…"

"I don't know either!" Jellal said, looking positively clueless. "The only time I have ever talked to a reporter in my life was when you were late for that interview a few weeks ago and the lady asked me where she could find you. I kept her company for maybe three minutes before you showed up!"

Ultear didn't speak for a moment. "And tell me, Jellal, how exactly did you act during those three minutes?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. The way I usually act around people I've just met?"

"Right… and, knowing you, the way you would act in such a situation would be…" she paused, checking the article one more time – she had actually already underlined every compliment they made him in the small text box to the side "… let me see, '_smart', 'polite', 'charming'_ and_ 'adorable'_. It would take you flashing those pearlies just once for the '_has an amazing smile'_ quote to apply_._ Add those factors together and you'll reach the '_dreamy_' state, which quickly extrapolates to '_husband material_' and the Mother-in-law's wet dream quote. I'm not sure where they could have gotten the '_top-quality physical fitness_' from a three-minute conversation unless you had no shirt on…"

"I did!"

"But it wouldn't take much asking around to get to the notion of '_powerful'_," she finished before turning to the boy in question. "You see where I'm getting here?"

"No!"

She sighed. "Jellal, when people meet you for the first time, you have this… effect on them. How should I describe it…?" She took a moment to think. "Ah, yes, perfect. You're like a newborn kitten."

Meredy giggled behind her. "Kitty," she repeated in amusement.

His eyes widened. "I'm like a what?!"

"A newborn kitten. You're sweet and adorable and charming and all those things that most sixteen-year-old boys are not and people find themselves thinking: 'He's too good for this world'. They want to wrap you up in a blanket and take you home because you're just so goddamn cute. In a kitten sort of way. Seriously, it's no wonder that Millianna latches onto you like a barnacle."

"I'm not a kitten!"

Ultear ignored him. "So, those three minutes you spent with that reporter (who, if I recall correct, was wearing a wedding ring) were more than enough to send her your kitty-vibes and having her thinking that she had just spotted a poor little feline who needed a home. Now, since she was married and couldn't take you home herself, which way was the best to be sure to find your kitty-self a home? That's right – to advertise you in a magazine. So now, all those girls from all across the country have come to collect their adorable, blue-haired newborn kitten."

Hopeless and utterly horrified by Ultear's humiliating metaphor, he crumbled onto the table, resting his chin on the surface in complete defeat. "This is a nightmare!"

"Oh, quit moaning, kid," they heard Laxus saying from his seat. Jellal turned to look at him in disbelief but the Dragon Slayer seemed unfazed. "This is an opportunity for you. I made it to the top of the list once. Girls showed up from every direction. I had loads of fun! Got laid like craz…" He ceased talking, however, as he felt something flying by dangerously close to his face. After a second, he turned around and found a fork sticking out of the wall behind the bar. "What the…?" He faced forward, looking for the culprit, only to find no one too obvious. Still, he couldn't help but notice that Mirajane was suspiciously close to the direction the fork had come from, currently holding little Romeo on her hip. "The hell, Mira! Did you just throw a fork at me?!"

She raised an eyebrow, looking perfectly confused. "A fork? Why would I do such a terribly dangerous thing? And how? My arms are a little full of toddler, aren't they?"

(In another world, where her rebellious side was closer to the surface, she might have actually admitted to the jealousy-fueled act. In that world however, she didn't, since the influence of a certain time-magic-wielding-senpai had taught her that keeping her more demotic slightly more… ambiguous might actually achieve better results in what came to intimidation. Having people wondering about the depth of the perversion they could at times glimpse underneath that gracious, pleasant outer layer sure did wonders to her reputation… why, some even believed her duality was the result of being the spawn of Satan itself.)

Little Romeo giggled in her arms and she put him down, nudging his back. "Go on, sweetie. Let's see if we can catch you another time."

Laxus still eyed her almost-angelic-behavior suspiciously before concluding that she was simply _too good_ to unwillingly show another incriminating glimpse of The Demon. He wasn't getting anything out of her for sure, so he might as well let it go… for the moment, at least.

"Anyway, kid, quit treating this perfect opportunity to pop your cherry like it's your death sentence," Laxus told him. "Loads of guys would kill to be in your shoes."

His words made Jellal go a little… green.

"You know, you still made it to number two this year," Ultear informed Laxus. "That's not bad at all."

"Yeah, but I'm almost twenty now. Most of the chicks crowded out there are pretty much jail bait for me at this point," the blonde pointed out.

"Good. It's time you found yourself a decent girl, settled down and gave me some great-grandbrats that hopefully are not as cheeky as you are," his grandfather lectured him.

Laxus gave the Master a look. "You have a lot of nerve saying that, Gramps. Don't you hit on everything with a skirt even though you're about as old as a fossil?"

"Oi, you're not still too old for me to bend over my knee!" he warned his grandson.

"You'd like to see you _try_."

And so, the two Dreyar males went on bickering for the next few minutes, leaving Jellal to wallow on his own terrible fate of being chased to death by delusional fangirls.

"Maybe it's not so bad," Erza mumbled. "I'm sure we can shoo them away with the right words."

"Oh, I don't know, Erza. Would you be capable of resisting a kitty in the cold if someone told you to?" Ultear questioned before thrusting the magazine into her hands. "Especially one that is advertised with pictures as… interesting as these?"

The young redhead took it and, after only a glimpse, her eyes widened to the size of saucers. There were photos of Jellal. Lots of photos and many of them _shirtless_. She felt her face heating.

"I've got to say, Jellal," Ultear stated. "You've been taking real good care of yourself. One could do laundry on these babies," she stated, vaguely gesturing at his exposed abdominal area in a particularly shocking picture, in which he appeared to be bathing in a lake, likely with nothing underneath the water line (which was thankfully reflecting the sunlight and blocking their view from what was… underneath), plainly unaware that he was being photographed.

Jellal just moaned in despair and Erza trembled, eyes wide, while looking at the pictures. They were so… dividing, for lack of better word. She found herself both wanting to have them framed and hang on her wall and to burn ever single copy of the magazine issue for the sake of turning all those tempting images into unrecognizable ash. To think all those girls out there had seen that…

B… but… how had the magazine even gotten those pictures? They didn't seem posed at all. In fact, they looked a little… stalk-y. _More_ than stalky! Jellal didn't exactly make a habit of walking around shirtless like, say, Gray did. And they all had the same background too… narrowing her eyes, she looked at the photos closely and found herself recognizing something. "Wait a second," she spoke, turning to Jellal and noticing him trying to desperately to avert her eyes. "This is the forest where we camped while we were training for the S-Class trials!"

At that, he finally faced her. "It is?"

"Yes! How did they get photos of you there? Did… did they _follow _you?!"

"I… I guess?" he mumbled before lowering his head to the table again. "Oh, god. I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today…"

Erza didn't say anything but inside she was boiling with anger. How… how could they do such a thing? Advertising Jellal without his permission. Taking photos of him – borderline indecent photos! – without him knowing and then publishing them. "This is wrong," Erza mumbled. "He… he's not theirs to give away."

"That's right," Ultear agreed. "But then again, he's not really anybody's, is he? At least not in the capacity those girls want him for…"

The redhead pursed her lips. She had a point there. They were not a couple. They had never been a couple. They were close… as close as people could be without taking their relationship into the romantic path. He was her best friend, her mission partner, her protector and protectee. Ever since leaving the tower, they had not been apart longer than a day or two and only then due to exceptional circumstances such as one being sick and unwilling to pass the illness on to the other.

But even though they lived their lives as just the closest of friends, Erza knew her feelings went far beyond that. She loved him – she'd loved him since he'd given her hope in that tower where there was none. For a long time, she'd denied herself that and, then, when she'd grown mature enough to stop denying it to herself, she'd gone on denying it to others.

Why did she still hesitate? Why didn't she take the leap when everyone in Fairy Tail kept stating that he loved her? When he had never looked twice at a girl other than her? When he acted as devoted to her as she was to him?

Because he had never said it.

He'd never said the words out loud: I love you. And without those words she couldn't be _sure._ So, without being sure, how could she possibly risk their precious friendship – her dearest relationship – by stating her feelings and making things awkward? No, it was too much of a gamble.

"Maybe I should go on a job," he mumbled. "A long job until this blows over…" He turned to Erza. "How would you feel about us taking a ten-year mission? We can still visit sometimes…"

"You can't go on one of those unless you're S-Class," Erza said. "Even if you have an S-Class mage with you."

He looked a little disappointed.

"Come on, Jellal, don't be so down," Ultear told the younger boy. "Maybe Laxus is right and you'll actually find a girlfriend in that crowd," she teased.

Jellal frowned, fed up. "But I don't want a girlfriend from that crowd! I want…!" he stopped suddenly before finishing the sentence but his eyes betrayed him for a moment as they bore right into Erza's.

She held her breath.

But then, Jellal seemed to deflate from his frustration and just sighed. "I don't want a girlfriend from that crowd," he repeated.

At the same time, Erza was still holding her breath. A major fight was going on inside her mind.

Had he…? Had he almost… said he wanted…?

No. No! She couldn't just assume. That wasn't fair. That was…

… as close as it had ever gotten! He had practically said…

… nothing! He had said nothing!

But could she risk it? Did that balance possibilities out enough that she could risk taking a leap?

Never! What if she was wrong? What if she wasn't the person he liked? What if she completely shattered their friendship by adding a big love-shaped elephant into the room?

But what if she _wasn't_ wrong. What if he felt the same? What if he felt _exactly_ the same and wasn't saying anything because she hadn't either. What if they never got the guts to say the words? What if, all their lives, they held it in until one of them was in their deathbed with nothing to lose and finally said it, only to die moments later, leaving their love story unrealized?

Her eyes widened. "Sweet Mavis, that is awful," she whispered to herself.

Ultear seemed to catch it. "Did you say something?"

Erza didn't respond. Instead, she got up, nearly knocking her bench over. "Jellal, come with me," she commanded.

He raised an eyebrow. "What fo… _ah_!" he said as she went around the table, grabbed his arm and dragged him behind her. He managed to regain his footing only due to a tremendous amount of experience in being dragged by Erza like luggage and started following her willingly. He didn't bother to ask where she was going – he knew there was no point when she was on a mission.

Silently, the redhead guided him behind the bar counter and into the kitchen, where they headed straight to the guild's back door, stepping out into the alley where the trashcans were kept… only to find it still blocked by ice.

"Damn it. I forgot this was here," she mumbled. "Maybe I can pierce through it with one of my swords…"

"No! Don't!" Jellal said. "The girls will hear it breaking and come running here!"

"Then what…" But then, the ice started steaming and melting into nothing. They looked behind them and saw Ultear standing there, using her Arc of Time, Meredy firmly by her side.

"You're welcome," she told. "Now go on. Don't let me keep you."

They didn't. Or rather, Erza didn't, getting a hold of Jellal's arm again. He started whining about being seen by the girls as they stepped out of the alley but she ignored him, dragging him until they were standing right in the middle of the street, behind the mad crowd.

They didn't even get to stand there for a second before the girls noticed his presence.

"_Hey! It's him!_"

"_Jellal, you came back!_"

"_You're so handsome!_"

"_Get out of the way, bitch! He's mine!_"

Jellal could only close his eyes, preparing himself to take the onslaught of running girls. But then, a few seconds later, they didn't come. He opened his eyes to find himself and Erza surrounded by a circle of swords, all pointing out in a clear threat.

He blinked. Those were Erza's weapons. There was no doubt. Erza has brought out her weapons and was using them to threaten the crowd into staying away. A crowd, albeit mad, consisting of teenage girls. That was… unbelievable.

"_What the hell?_"

"_You psycho!_"

"Don't get any closer!" Erza warned.

Again, he was stunned. Erza was extremely serious about her weapons. Serious and careful. Ever since she had left a sword resting carelessly on a table of her room and Millianna had wandered in, gotten curious and hurt herself while handling it, Erza had become extremely careful to keep her arsenal out of people's way for their own safety. She did not bring her weapons out outside of training and jobs and even then, only when she was sure that her training partner could handle them or the situation absolutely demanded it.

So, for that reason, it was _extremely out of character_ for her to have brought out her swords in order to face a group of teenage girls, even if they were utterly demented. He couldn't help but be touched that she was upset enough at his ordeal to go to such lengths.

"For your own safety, please stay back. We only want to clarify something for you," Erza said

"_What?_"

"_Get out of the way, red! We want Jellal!_"

"Quiet!" she demanded, fuming so much that her magic went a little out of control, enough that the weapons… twitched threateningly. The girls, fearing for their well-being, obeyed. "As I said, we wanted to clarify something. It seems that the magazine you all subscribe to made a bit of a… mistake."

"_Mistake? What Mistake?_"

Jellal could also really ask the same.

"By including Jellal in a 'Most Eligible Bachelor' poll, they seemed to imply that he was… available," Erza stated. "But… but he's… he's not!"

"_Eh?!"_ was the general sound of indignation that was heard.

"_He's not?!_"

_I'm not?! _Jellal thought to himself.

"He… he's…" _Mine,_ she wanted to say. _He's mine!_ But the words wouldn't come out. It was like that part of her brain wasn't working. And because it wasn't working, she had to find another way to express herself. As such, she turned to Jellal, who looked very much confused. "Jellal?" she said in a little voice.

He seemed like he was zapped awake upon hearing her voice. "Y… yes?"

She placed her hands on his shoulders, causing him to flinch from the nerves. "Please don't hate me for this," she whispered. And then, after a second, she did it. She kissed him. On the mouth. Like couples did.

At first, he was so stunned that he didn't quite realize what was going on. But then, he did and froze into place because Erza was kissing him. Erza was _kissing him_. _Erza_ was kissing him and sweet Mavis, he must have died and gone to heaven sometime in the past few seconds because it was so amazing!

Nearby, the fangirls erupted into wails of despair, seeing their seduction plans go down the drain. Of course, their wails were not nearly as loud as the cheers from the group of people that had gathered at the end of the alley leading into the guild's back door. Ultear was looking in disbelief because she most certainly had not expected her swift hints to actually _work_ in getting those two dorks all over each other that fast. Mirajane was by her side shouting '_You did it, senpai! You did it!_' at Ultear, deeming her the queen of matchmaking and the ground she walked on even worthier of being worshiped than before. Meredy and Millianna had taken to bouncing, making sounds of delight as they did so. Kagura shook her head in mild disapproval while her own brother just gave the new couple a fond smile, having long accepted the inevitable. The Master nodded in approval, recognizing the situation as a long-time coming.

At some point, some of the jilted fangirls got the idea of trying to get past the barrier of swords to try and do something… only to find yet another layer of weaponry forming above the already-existing one, this one consisting of even larger swords (how Erza did so while she was so… busy was beyond the imagination of anyone present). That led a large number of the girls to just run away in fear, deeming Erza downright dangerous.

As for the ones that stayed, Ultear had a word of advice for them. "May I suggest that you girls move on to the most eligible bachelors #3 and #4 Hibiki Lates and Ren Akatsuki since #2 isn't interested either?" she piped in from where she stood. "They are very attractive and love the attention. In fact, there is a train leaving from Magnolia station to Blue Pegasus in…" she looked at her watch, checking the time "…twenty minutes. I would hurry if I were you – the tickets are limited…"

There was a general sound of girls flipping the pages of their magazines as if they were catalogues in search for the males in question. Then, somebody spoke: "Meh, good enough." And another large number of girls left, leaving only about a dozen ones still watching, some reeling from the heartbreak, others awing at the display of affection – either way, they seemed plainly harmless.

On their spot, as they finally broke apart Jellal and Erza found themselves in a very, _very_ awkward position… not only with each other but also with the many spectators. As such, they desperately tried to ignore the people watching… even pretend they weren't there, which wasn't exactly easy with the whistling or the cheering. As for each other… well, eyes were definitely averted.

"E… Erza?" Jellal managed to ask in a very choked tone.

Her face was so red and her heart was beating so fast that she thought she might faint. Oh, god, she had kissed Jellal! She had kissed Jellal and now she couldn't undo it or pretend it hadn't happened because it most certainly had happened and her lips had definitely kissed Jellal's… probably not very well because she had never kissed anyone before. Oh no! What if he'd hated it? What if he never wanted to kiss her again? What if that terrible kiss had marked the end of any hopes for them to become…?

"Erza?" Jellal called again.

"Y-yes," she finally responded. Her face grew even redder upon addressing him. "What is it?"

"Did… did you do that just to shoo the girls away?" he asked in a little voice, sounding terribly insecure as he looked away.

Her eyes widened. Oh, god, there she went… "H… how would you feel if I said I hadn't?" she asked in in a mumble.

He turned his head a little and when his eyes finally met hers, they were full of hope. "I'd feel really… relieved," he said truthfully. "And really happy."

She looked at him blankly for a few seconds. Relieved. Happy. Those were good things. They were, weren't they? So, if he was feeling good things that meant… he'd liked it? _Oh,_ she thought. _Oh!_ So did that make them a thing now? Right then and there? In the streets? In front of all their…? She let out a choked sound and covered her face just as Jellal flashed a look of worry. "Oh, no. I can't believe I did this in front of everyone!"

"No, no! That's okay. I mean, it did drive most of those crazy girls away," he consoled her. "And as for the others…" he paused, chuckling "… I guessed they would have ended up seeing it eventually, anyway."

She pulled her hands down a little, uncovering her eyes. He was smiling – smiling that typical Jellal infectious smile that just said nothing was wrong, everything was good, the world was a brilliant place and all was going to be great for them in it. For a moment, she considered that it really was no wonder he had made it to the top of that Magazine's list. He was amazing – and now, that amazingness was hers… or so she thought.

"You know, I think you can put your swords away for now," he told her with a laugh.

"Oh," she mumbled, not having noticed they were still out. She summoned them back into her requip space and looked around, attempting to spot any ongoing mobbing. There was none. Still, as her eyes landed on their delighted friends, waving around and sending them their thumbs up, she blushed hard again.

Jellal didn't miss that. "Hey, do you want to get out of here?" he asked. "We can go to the bakery and talk there. I saw they had your favorite cake on display today when I passed by earlier," he informed her.

She looked back at him and as she saw him still smiling, she couldn't help but allow her lips to curl as well in return. "Yeah, I'd like that," she agreed.

He grinned even wider and took a step back, stretching his hand towards her, intending for her to take it. "Let's go, then!"

And so, with little hesitation, she took the hand in question and allowed him to be the one guiding her that time. It occurred to her that it felt really good to have her hand on his like that – she sort of didn't want to let go ever.

At the alley, the ever-growing group of people watched them go.

"Oh, come on! They aren't even coming by for some back-patting?" Gildarts complained.

"It's probably for the best, Gildarts," Ur told him. "You patting someone's back can be a tad deadly sometimes."

The S-Class mage pouted. "Aw, Ur-chan! Your words can be so mean sometimes," he whined, making her roll her eyes.

"Brother and Sister are together! Brother and Sister are together!" Shô shouted in excitement.

"They're gonna get married and have babies and they'll be our nieces and nephews!" Millianna fantasized.

"Brother and Sister are together! Brother and Sister are together!" Shô went on repeating until Laxus whacked him on the head.

"Don't say it like that, kid! It sounds really messed up," the Dragon Slayer scolded him.

Shô frowned. "Why?"

Laxus considered telling him… but then found himself unwilling to, predicting the trouble that would be telling him all about incest and why it was wrong and why him shouting that his brother and sister were together, omitting the non-blood-related part, might have people raising their eyebrows. "Ask Gramps later. Just call them by their names when you say that and you'll be fine," he told him.

"I still don't see what's so special about that guy," Kagura declared, sounding very stoic.

Simon patted her on the head. "He's a great person and Erza loves him. That's all you need to know," he told her.

She pouted, a little disappointed, but just sighed in the end.

"Looks like your work is done there," Ur commented as she approached her daughter. "How will you occupy your free time now without sweet little lovebirds to match up? You know, if you're taking suggestions, I think Lyon really needs a girlfriend in order to loosen up a little. I would say to go ahead and do the same to Gray but I wouldn't dream of throwing him onto some unexpecting girl until he has that stripping habit of his a little more under control."

"Oh, I'm not getting anywhere near the romantic lives of any of those two. They give me enough grief as it is," Ultear declared. "And this project is not over until there's a wedding ring on Erza's finger and three shorties with hair that's red, blue or something in between clutching to her skirts."

"She's still a little young for that," Ur pointed out.

"I know, Mama. I never signed up for this on the short-term, anyway."

**The End**

**A/N: Meredy's presence despite Ultear being good and not having destroyed her hometown, will be explained in a later piece of this universe's puzzle :D**

**I hope you found this fic enjoyable. I LOVED writing it. I haven't had this much fun writing something in ages.**

**Let me know your thooughts through the little box bellow.**


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